Wow, I find ice cream to be one of the most sensual foods there is. But I also really gravitate to texture and weight in foods that I like. Even with wine, the first thing I typically notice is how it feels in my mouth. Is it super chalky, tannic and heavy? A plus for me with red wines. Is the effervesence creamy, languid and subdued? A plus for me with champagnes.

Chocolate and kettle cooked chips (for opposing textures) are two other foods I love mostly due to their feel in the mouth.

Jeff

"Meeting Franklin Roosevelt was like opening your first bottle of champagne. Knowing him was like drinking it." - Winston Churchill

Jeff B wrote:Wow, I find ice cream to be one of the most sensual foods there is. Jeff

Most people seem to love it, and it's as if they have a childhood connection to it as a reward. I could feel that way as it was something we didn't have much at home but sometimes walked into town for, but I don't like sweets or dairy-based foods enough to have made that connection. Even as a kid I preferred fruit-flavored sherbets or fruit itself to ice cream.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

The concept of the flavor sounds great, but everytime I try it it comes off way too subtle. I guess most likely because they're not using the freshest or most fragrant cinammon. And this is from otherwise high-quality places. And it's not like I need an overdose of smack-you-in-the-face flavors, but I do want to taste the flavor and more often than not when I order cinammon it doesn't deliver.

Good topic. We had our first afternoon ice cream cones yesterday, and are looking forward to a good season. I was pissed because I swung for the fences and ordered pistachio, but it was one of those artificial flourescent green versions, even from a place that claimed it was 'homemade'. I should have known better. Pistachio is so hard to get right. But, I have the whole summer to make up for it!

In general, I go for succulent fruit flavors (melon, peach, berries, figs) and nuts (hazelnut and walnut being the tops). I like that combination of one scoop from each family.

I really love ice cream but don't allow myself too much and try not to keep temptation in the house. We have a new branch of a great local ice cream parlor, Comfy Cow, in our neighborhood now, and Mary and I have a deal: We can only treat ourselves if we walk to get it. It's one mile from home, so the two-mile walk probably burns off about one-fourth of the calories consumed in a kiddie cup, no cone. Still, it makes us feel virtuous.

Before Comfy Cow, I would have answered this question as "Chocolate chip, coffee, and that's about it."

But between this ice cream palace's regular and seasonal flavors, I'm much more inclined to experiment now. Some of the great ones have included Dulce de Leche de Salté, Bourbon Ball, Java Chip and Coconut Chocolate Chip.

And of course, all of this doesn't even open the door to the gelato closet ...

The concept of the flavor sounds great, but everytime I try it it comes off way too subtle. I guess most likely because they're not using the freshest or most fragrant cinammon. And this is from otherwise high-quality places. And it's not like I need an overdose of smack-you-in-the-face flavors, but I do want to taste the flavor and more often than not when I order cinammon it doesn't deliver.

It's one that I make myself from a recipe in "Ices", by Liddel and Weir. I use Penzey's Vietnamese along with some of their stick cinnamon to get a nice, deep cinnamon flavor.

Jenise wrote:Most people seem to love it, and it's as if they have a childhood connection to it as a reward. I could feel that way as it was something we didn't have much at home but sometimes walked into town for, but I don't like sweets or dairy-based foods enough to have made that connection. Even as a kid I preferred fruit-flavored sherbets or fruit itself to ice cream.

It's funny, but I wasn't a big ice cream fan when I was a kid. I liked it but I preferred cakes and such if I had a choice for dessert. It wasn't until I was through college that I started to really like ice cream. Now, I love the stuff.

Jenise wrote:Most people seem to love it, and it's as if they have a childhood connection to it as a reward. I could feel that way as it was something we didn't have much at home but sometimes walked into town for, but I don't like sweets or dairy-based foods enough to have made that connection. Even as a kid I preferred fruit-flavored sherbets or fruit itself to ice cream.

It's funny, but I wasn't a big ice cream fan when I was a kid. I liked it but I preferred cakes and such if I had a choice for dessert. It wasn't until I was through college that I started to really like ice cream. Now, I love the stuff.

I'm somewhat the same way Mike. I've always liked ice cream but I didn't have it too frequently as a kid. Oddly, it is now that I appreciate it's variety and sensual qualities.

I have a similar history with dark chocolate - I never had it as a kid (it was always milk chocolate or candy bars) but as an adult I now appreciate the artisan qualities of it. Such combos as sea salt and dark chocolate is something I couldn't have imagined when I was younger. Of course, chocolate is enjoying a "bull market" of sorts so there's a lot more options out there today.

Jeff

"Meeting Franklin Roosevelt was like opening your first bottle of champagne. Knowing him was like drinking it." - Winston Churchill

On the subject of "Blue Moon", that used to be one of the milkshake flavours you could order at the deli when I was a kid. It was a subtle musky flavour and not over-sweet. I was seriously fond of it. I haven't seen it for years.